EP 303: What Happens When We Pay Attention to The Positive Experiences of Our Lives?

Of all the many implicit biases that impact our moment to moment experience as Human Beings, one of the most powerful is the negativity bias. The negativity bias makes us automatically pay attention to the negative aspects of our experiences over the positive aspects of our experience. The thing is, as neuroscientists tell us, where attention goes, energy flows. So when we succumb to the negativity bias and pay more attention to the negative aspects of our lives, we start to feel that our lives are overwhelmed with problems. Not only will this kind of thinking result in stress, but it’s simply not true. There are not more negative things happening to you. You’re just PAYING MORE ATTENTION to them. And a simple way to create balance and resilience to this negativity bias is to intentionally pay attention to the positive aspects of your life. Mindfulness practices will help with this. But you can also develop this skill through the simple practice of keeping a gratitude journal. Would you like to learn more?